Cherry Blossom Watch Update: February 27, 2018

UPDATE: The Washington Post‘s Capital Weather Gang has just issued their own peak bloom prediction. They are predicting that peak bloom will come “during the window between March 23 and 27 this year, centered on the 25th.” That would make it about a week or so earlier than the historical average.

You can see the green buds everywhere now, and the National Park Service horticulturalists determined that 70 percent of the buds had reached the first development stage, the “Green Buds” stage, on February 25. That’s early, although it’s not the earliest it has ever been. It’s just a day later than last year.

Elsewhere, the first daffodils are just starting to pop. The photo below was taken this morning at the LBJ Memorial Grove.

The National Park Service will be announcing their peak bloom prediction at a press conference on Thursday. As of right now, spring is coming early. But the National Weather Service is expecting things to cool off as we get into the first couple of weeks of March. If that pans out, it’ll slow things down.

This time last year we were also well ahead of the average schedule and looked set for a record-setting early bloom, but then winter came roaring back to bite us in a big way. So there’s still plenty of opportunity for things to change.

March for Our Lives Rally

The rally’s organizers are planning for up to 500,000 people to attend. While DC handles big events in its stride, that’s likely to create a lot of competition for hotel rooms that weekend. So if you’re planning to come into town then, it’s probably best to book sooner rather than later.

For Photographers

Gear Deals

B&H has some really good deals at the moment on everything from cameras and lenses to tripods and lighting. These ones are running through March 3 to coincide with the WPPI conference.

Photo Tours

Walking photo tours can be a great way to learn some new photography skills with the help of experts. And photo tours for the cherry blossoms can take advantage of expert local knowledge to know where to be when to get the best light and vantage points.

If you’re looking to do a photo tour while you’re visiting, there are a few options. The best place to start is with Washington Photo Safari, but there are also some other options, which you can find on the DC photo tours page.

For the best experience, they usually limit them to small groups. So it’s a good idea to book well in advance if you can. Of course, that also means rolling the dice in terms of when the cherry blossoms will be in bloom.

Renting Gear

If you’re looking to rent some gear, whether something specialized or just to try out something different, I can recommend both BorrowLenses and Lens Pro to Go. They’re the ones I typically use when I need something specific for a client shoot or am just curious about trying something out. Lens Pro to Go currently has 15% to 25% off through March.

How to Get Updates on the 2018 Cherry Blossoms

There are several ways to keep up to date with Cherry Blossom Watch updates.

CherryBlossomWatch.com This website is Cherry Blossom Watch HQ. New updates post here first. They're also more details and include more current photos than the other options. So be sure to bookmark and check back often. If you'd like to receive instant automatic notifications directly from the website when new updates are posted, take a look at the browser notification option below.

Instagram. Follow the dedicated Instagram feed at @cherryblossomwatch. The posts are usually shorter and less detailed, but they include freshly taken photos and post more quickly.

Facebook. Follow the Cherry Blossom Watch Facebook page. This is a good way to know when new updates are posted on the website, but because of the way Facebook's newsfeed algorithm works, there's no guarantee that every update will show up in your feed.

Email Newsletter. To the right of the page (or bottom, if you're using a mobile device) you can find a signup form for the 2018 cherry blossom watch email newsletter. This is sent out as a digest of the latest updates every week or so when new updates have been posted.

Browser Notifications. On desktop web browsers you can click on the red bell icon at the bottom right of the screen to sign up for push notifications. When new updates are posted you'll get a notification automatically right in your browser. Works in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox only, for now.

Licensing & Prints

Looking for travel stock photos or prints? I might be able to help. You can search my collection here: If you already have a buyer account with Alamy and would prefer to use that, you can search my images directly here.